Life, has taken a few dramatic course changes in the past two years. I found myself turning 90 degrees, as well as soon to be 50. Now I am in the position to express a bit of myself more fully than ever before. Turning 50 this year and reviewing the life lessons in hindsight, has called me into greater freedom, a fuller and larger sense of self. Some of the same questions always present themselves in my life over and over. Who am I? How do I want to live my life? What to do? Whom do I want to be? etc etc. Rolling these questions over and over patiently, I waited for an inner green light to jump! And so I have.

Born from this nearing two-year tussle, is my own handcrafted jewelry company JusJasJewelry.

Coming from a background path that includes a collegiate seminarian experience, 8 years in the hospitality industry, 6 years in Cosmetology, 12 years as an International Flight Attendant and an additional 10 years as a Realtor, I am amazed to see how all these experiences have contributed to where and who I am today. Pleasantly surprised and grateful I now set out anew. For the past year or so I have been quietly pursuing a personal passion, a playtime.

Living in a culturally rich and historically American handcrafts area such as Washington DC, I have been availing myself of the museums, libraries and craft shows. Attending classes, seeking instruction, chatting up working artists, reading books, downloading demonstrative videos, twisting, turning, tying, sticking, soldering, filing, cutting, polishing, gluing, piercing, cursing, and practicing my way into the handcrafted world of artisan jewelry. From bead weaving, stringing, metalsmith, to wire work, the forms and shapes of color and beauty have entranced me to a positive space. I now choose to draw life from this discovered wellspring onward in the next path of life’s wonder.

My blog, I intend to use as a tool for sharing some of the physical and ethereal beauty that inspires and carries me through in play. My hope is to never take myself so seriously that I would squash the spring of joy the quiet time of handcrafting brings.